It’s not as if Ryan Giggs decided to dislike Liverpool, he simply never had any other option.
The Manchester United legend was taught from a young age that that was just the way things were for young footballers growing up in Manchester.
Giggs has experienced one of England’s most heated grudge matches, the one that fans of United and Liverpool first circle when the season’s fixtures are announced, on 48 occasions so he knows better than most the intensity that comes when the Reds and the Red Devils cross paths.
And the Welshman has revealed that he was primed for the rivalry from a very young age.
“I moved from Cardiff to Salford when I was seven,” Giggs said at a recent Q&A, via Manchester Evening News. “You were literally growing up encouraged to dislike people from Liverpool.
“I played for Salford under-11s and you would play Sefton, Liverpool boys, Bootle boys and the rivalry was so great. You grow up with it.”
Giggs ended his 29-year association with United in the summer with the aim of giving management a whirl and with Jose Mourinho’s imminent arrival meaning that there would be no job opening awaiting Giggs at Old Trafford, he’s on the market.
But as eager as he is to take the hot seat in a top club’s dugout, that doesn’t mean he’d accept any offer of taking over at Liverpool.
“No. Just a no,” Giggs answered when asked whether he’d do the unimaginable and manage the Reds. “That’s no disrespect to Liverpool, I just wouldn’t. I would no longer have friends!
“Liverpool is a team who for me was always our biggest rivals, because growing up they were winning everything and they were the team to emulate. They are a fantastic club but the rivalry is too big for me to manage Liverpool.
“I’m sure Steven Gerrard would say the same about managing Manchester United. He would simply say no.”
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